[metageologist]

well i went out to my garage on Saturday to get a couple of my 10 gallon tanks so that i could bring the glass up to room temp with out breaking them.

Much to my shagrin leak from some place beat me to then all 3 of my 10 gallon tanks have cracks in the bottom. so my questions is y cant i just place a layer of acrylic on the inside of the tanks and silicon it in place to prevent any leaks.

Admittedly these tanks are cheap i think i paid 2$ each but that being said i don't want to by new tanks.

so can i fix them or are they going in the trash

 

[hydrophyte]

I wouldn't trust water in it with a fix like that. You could maybe use them for emersed aquatics or terrariums.

 

[GTR]

By the time you buy acrylic and silicon you could almost buy new tanks. How did the leak cause them to crack? Sorry I'm from SoCal and don't understand cold.

SteveU

 

[smp]

Any water + Cold (as in unheated garage) = Ice. Ice expands in all directions busting anything that doesn't move easily (as in glass). I've lost more rain-gauges, hosed nozzles and carts that I care to remember over the years.

 

[Hoppy]

Silicone doesn't adhere well to acrylic, but it does to glass. You could get a piece of window glass cut to the right size and silicone it into place around the edges. The cracked bottom would still hold the thin window glass so the water pressure wouldn't crack it, and the silicone around the outside would seal it.

If the existing silicone filets at the bottom interfere with sitting the glass right against the existing glass, you could put zigzag sillicone beads all over the bottom glass and sit the repair piece on that. The silicone would then cushion it and keep water pressure from breaking it. Naturally I haven't tried this, but I'm willing to experiment in your house

 

[metageologist]

Silicone doesn't adhere well to acrylic, but it does to glass. You could get a piece of window glass cut to the right size and silicone it into place around the edges. The cracked bottom would still hold the thin window glass so the water pressure wouldn't crack it, and the silicone around the outside would seal it.

If the existing silicone filets at the bottom interfere with sitting the glass right against the existing glass, you could put zigzag sillicone beads all over the bottom glass and sit the repair piece on that. The silicone would then cushion it and keep water pressure from breaking it. Naturally I haven't tried this, but I'm willing to experiment in your house

i think i will try this in one of my tanks once i get a free moment. and we'll do the next experiment in your house.

 

[OverStocked]

New 10g tanks are 10 dollars at walmart. Not worth the risk to me.

 

[metageologist]

if there only 10 dollars i think i will just buy new ones for now and toy with the others l8r